


need your sugar rush

by pinkwalk (heartspound)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: (affectionate) teasing is wonwoo's love language, 96z line as gay people meeting up for brunch, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, library date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29679558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartspound/pseuds/pinkwalk
Summary: Soonyoung is sure that if he was left alone in this labyrinth built out of books, he'd get lost.But lucky for him, he has Wonwoo.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 56





	need your sugar rush

**Author's Note:**

> i owe it all to kit for the brainworms she gave me months ago and to exo-cbx's mini album blooming days for getting me to the end of this.
> 
> title from toothache by topaz jones.

Soonyoung thinks the library should belong to Wonwoo. The thought latches onto his brain, a stubborn little thing he can’t get rid of.

He holds Wonwoo's hand and keeps the same lazy pace as him. On the second turn they make around the library, he muses whether it is possible, or not, to legally acquire a public establishment. He had lost focus long ago. To be specific, it was when he saw Wonwoo outside his building, standing awkwardly against a wall and waiting for him.

But here, Wonwoo looks like he belongs. He knows his way through the library as if he lived between these shelves. Swimming in his too-big grey sweatshirt and holding Soonyoung’s hand, he fixes his glasses with his middle finger when they hang low on the slope of his nose.

He reminds Soonyoung of the ancient, lazy black cat perched over books at the book café Junhui always drags him to.

The comfortable silence between them stretches here. When Wonwoo wants to say something, he speaks as quietly as Soonyoung’s ever heard him. He’s already quiet, never loud, and the place seems to accentuate that aspect of him.

“Do you think you’d get bored if you lived here?” Soonyoung asks, way too loud and regrets it when he sees a woman lift an eyebrow at him.

Wonwoo thinks about it for a moment, feet carrying him forward at a leisurely pace.

“I don’t think so. It’s quiet but never completely silent," he says so, so quietly that he's almost silent himself. "I don't know, it's nice. There’s always someone around doing something.” A pause. “And if I ever wanna do something that isn’t reading, they have computers I can use,” he whispers, getting slightly closer to Soonyoung so he can hear him clearly over the whirring of the air conditioner on top of them.

There’s no need to lower his voice that much. Soonyoung figures it must be a habit of spending so much time here, so he doesn’t point it out.

“They do?” Soonyoung asks.

Wonwoo tries to hide a smile and does a terrible job at it. “I mean, it is a library. Have you never been in one?”

He’s searching for a book, not really looking at Soonyoung, so he doesn’t catch him rolling his eyes. “Shut up, ‘course I have.”

The moment they arrived, Wonwoo waved to the guy behind the main desk, who didn’t give Soonyoung more than a glance before passing Wonwoo a post-it note with something scribbled on it. “Good luck this time, hyung,” he said, and Wonwoo simply nodded as he took the yellow paper.

It picked at Soonyoung’s curiosity but when he tried to ask what he meant Wonwoo only said, “I wanna show you something.”

So, basically, Soonyoung followed him unthinkingly, the same way he’s been after him for weeks.

He took a look at the note when Wonwoo unfolded it and saw a series of numbers. Decimal classification, he guessed. He was aware of the library organization system, he just didn’t know how it worked.

But Wonwoo does. He studied the Korean decimal classification because he’s a nerd, or as Wonwoo would put it, a professor with a degree in Library Science — yes, there’s a huge difference. It’s not just semantics, Soonyoungie.

In all honesty, Soonyoung is weirdly, not so weirdly into him being a nerd.

He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he finds some things that aren’t conventionally attractive, hot in Wonwoo. Like the fact he has two monitors which he learned the time he overheard him and Jihoon discuss refresh rates. Soonyoung doesn’t know what the two monitors are for but he thinks it makes him look smart, tech-savvy. Fits the whole hot nerd vibe he’s got going on.

They pass by a window splashed with pieces of paper, the words _What are you reading now?_ are painted on the glass, each letter a different color. Wonwoo stops by the end of a shelf that has a similar series of numbers to the note he’s holding and turns to the left. Soonyoungs follow him, and not only because he’s holding his hand. He isn’t sure where they’re going but he sticks close to Wonwoo.

This isn't even the only room, and the ceiling is so tall that looking upwards for too long makes him dizzy. He is sure that if he was left alone in this labyrinth built out of books, he'd get lost.

But lucky for him, he has Wonwoo, and he’s sticking to him like bubblegum as he lets himself be led through the maze.

Wonwoo stops in front of a shelf filled with rows and rows of colorful books and crouches on the floor, letting go of his hand. Soonyoung only watches, staying put and noting how long his legs are. It’s distracting.

"What are you looking for?" Soonyoung asks him again, trying to clear his mind. Wonwoo’s hair is soft on top and rough at the edges, inviting Soonyoung’s hands to run through it. His fingers twitch at his sides, and he leans slightly down to try to read the spine of the books. Tries and fails, he can’t read a thing standing up.

Wonwoo smiles bashfully without looking up at him. "You'll see," he whispers, unlike Soonyoung, who keeps forgetting where he is, his voice rising up in a whine without meaning to.

It isn’t his fault, not when he has his mind on Wonwoo and how so, very, lost he feels.

Wonwoo squints his eyes behind his glasses, crouching in front of the bottom shelf. His auburn hair blends with the spine of old books he's following with delicate fingers.

Soonyoung knows he's staring but he doesn't really care. This is a date, after all.

Right?

All the signs are telling him it is but he can’t be completely sure.

Soonyoung would like to so, very much, tell Wonwoo he’s into him. He could, he is used to following his impulses but there’s something about Wonwoo that makes him pause. It’s his careful way of going through life, his thoughtful demeanor.

To put it simply, Soonyoung doesn’t want to overwhelm him and he’s waiting for Wonwoo, letting him control their pace. It’s a test of his restraint, really, and it’s hard. But it’s also awfully easy.

Spending time with Wonwoo _is_ easy as it was starting a conversation with him the morning they met with their mutual friends for bottomless mimosa brunch on the Gyeongnidan side of Itaewon.

Junhui was paying — something about losing a bet to Jihoon and Wonwoo was mentioned at some point. Not that Soonyoung cared much, he just wasn’t passing up the opportunity of joining them for a free meal when Jihoon invited him, too. It was meant to annoy Junhui but he hugged him tightly when Soonyoung arrived at the café, because, well, it’s Junhui.

Wonwoo told him back when they were ordering, “I don’t really drink.” But four hours later they were stuck in the back of Junhui’s tiny car, bordering on drunk at 3 PM on a Saturday, their sides pressed together, because Jihoon had called dibs on the passenger seat, and Soonyoung, with an alcohol-addled mind, hadn’t complained.

Despite Junhui driving like a madman, Wonwoo fell asleep. Jihoon was laughing at the two of them being the only ones tipsy but when Soonyoung looked at Wonwoo to help him defend their case, he found him open-mouthed with a little drool on the corner of his lips. His head was tilted back, leaning against the backseat, and his glasses were still on, askew on his face. And when his head fell on Soonyoung’s shoulder, he stayed completely still for the entirety of the ride to Junhui’s place.

Soonyoung can picture it easily because it’s in his camera roll, all thanks to Jihoon, who thought it was hilarious and immortalized the memory.

Begging Junhui for Wonwoo’s number later came as naturally as everything else, after that.

Except he isn’t sure if this is a date or not, and it’s starting to drive him up a wall.

Openly staring and occasionally flirting isn’t enough to get Wonwoo’s attention. He’s either oblivious or, in the worst of cases, not interested in the making-out-until-either-of-them-pass-out way Soonyoung is.

Those are the only options he could think of. When he asked Junhui, he said Wonwoo is like the wind, hard to catch, somewhat whimsical. But Jihoon put it across differently. According to him, he’s playing stupid and waiting for Soonyoung to do something — it’s Wonwoo, like, have you met him? It’s not my problem if you want him to spell it out for you. Jesus Christ. Don’t be gross, Soonyoung. I don't wanna know the things you wanna do to my friend, sheesh.

“Get a grip or I’ll block your number,” he said, sounding exasperated on the other end of the line. It was an empty threat, and they both knew it. Soonyoung laughed and Jihoon hung up on him but picked up again on the third ring.

Jihoon has a point, though. It’s starting to get ridiculous how badly Soonyoung wants to touch Wonwoo, to kiss him. To get to call whatever it is they’re doing now a date.

Wonwoo takes out a book from the bottom shelf, the series of numbers and letters on its spine matches the ones on the note Wonwoo has.

The hardback looks like it has seen more days than what this library has, like it visited many houses and many people. It’s pressed tightly between other books so it takes some effort to take it off the shelf but Wonwoo gets it done with care.

 _Miracles of the Namiya General Store_ , the book reads on its cover and that gets Soonyoung's attention. It’s one of the novels Wonwoo mentioned the last time they saw each other. That was a week ago, another time he wasn’t sure if their time spent together at a park could be considered a date, or not.

Soonyoung curses his memory because he’d wanted to look it up with the sole purpose to show Wonwoo he was paying attention. He was, still is. It just got lost in his brain between all the other Japanese books Wonwoo mentioned after Soonyoung told him he’d taken up Japanese Literature back in high school.

Soonyoung mostly wanted to impress him, mentioned Banana Yoshimoto and everything. And it didn’t take him long to notice he can’t keep up with Wonwoo, who reads in more quantity and variety. Partly because it’s his job, but mostly because he loves it.

Even if Soonyoung can’t keep up sometimes, it’s nice to hear Wonwoo talk about it.

His voice is soothing like the spring breeze, something poetic like that. And it gets this sweet tilt whenever he’s enthusiastic about something.

Soonyoung would know because Wonwoo sends him audio notes occasionally, speaking about whatever is on his mind; a poetry collection he’s reading, or something one of his students said in his last class that left him thinking.

One time he texted Soonyoung a poem he wrote himself and tried to laugh it off almost immediately, getting a little timid. He couldn’t deny the allowance of that piece _and_ the piece itself did things to his heart.

It ended up with him screaming against Junhui’s couch pillow and feeling like he’d been thrown back in time to high school: talking about literature he doesn’t feel suited to analyze, and developing a crush the size of Asia. It probably should’ve been embarrassing but it wasn’t — not until Junhui patted his head and said it out loud.

Truth be told, it doesn’t really matter to Soonyoung if he’s always two steps behind if Wonwoo is in front of him. Like he is, now.

Wonwoo opens the book and a bookmark almost falls from between its pages but Wonwoo is faster, catches it before it does. "Oh," he says, making Soonyoung lean further down. "We got lucky."

It isn't a bookmark.

The small thing is folded over and over like a diamond, made of ruled paper. Soonyoung doesn't understand what it is exactly until Wonwoo opens it up like a flower.

"I think it's a lily," he speaks softly, looking up at Soonyoung. When he smiles at him, Soonyoung can't help but smile back.

“I leave poems or passages in books I read and then I come back to see if whoever borrowed it next hid something inside it as a way of saying thanks," Wonwoo explains, looking up at Soonyoung. "My friend at the front lets me know when someone else borrows the book after me, and I come back and check to see if I got something back.”

Soonyoung dreamily watches him get up, book in one hand and paper lily in the other. "But... why?" He giggles out of endearment, can't help it.

"Back when I used to be a part-timer here, I accidentally left one of _my_ poems in a book I borrowed once, but when I tried to get it back, it was too late. I waited for the book to come back and hoped that maybe whoever borrowed it had left it alone and hadn't taken it with them. Of course they did exactly what I hoped they wouldn’t do. But they left one of theirs and on the back of the paper, they wrote, ‘thank you.’” Wonwoo gives Soonyoung the flower, and he takes it with the same care Wonwoo held it. “So, I kept doing it, even after I stopped working here and even when I didn't get anything back. It started as a silly thing I did and now it’s become a kind of game. Or habit, I don't know. It’s just nice, I guess.”

"I see," Soonyoung says, hoping Wonwoo can hear the unspoken word. _You_ , I see you _._ He settles for something that he can bring himself to say without dying on the spot he's glued to. Something safer. "That's very sweet of you, Wonwoo-yah."

It seems big enough that he feels like he should be saying thank you.

He's half-expecting Wonwoo to turn it into a joke and laugh it off like he tends to do when he says something true but once again, he surprises Soonyoung and doesn't add anything else.

“Does the library allow it?” he asks because he doesn't trust himself to say anything else.

Wonwoo lowers his voice impossibly more. “Not really," he says it like it's a secret.

Soonyoung doesn’t know if he finds it funny because it’s something so amusingly unusual to do _and_ hide, or because it’s Wonwoo who’s doing all... this. Maybe both. He laughs too hard and then, a second too late he remembers where they are. As if the sound wasn’t already heard, he covers his mouth.

But for once, they seem to be alone.

There’s no one throwing him looks, no one in sight between these shelves except for them.

And Wonwoo still has that smile Soonyoung has come to appreciate so much. Upturned lips, and crinkly nose like he’s trying really hard not to join Soonyoung and laugh, too. He nudges at Soonyoung with the book in his hands, getting closer. “It’s fine. There’s no one around,” he whispers, despite them being alone.

The moment feels shockingly intimate in its simplicity. It becomes the tipping point for him.

Soonyoung puts the hand that isn’t holding the paper flower on Wonwoo's waist and pulls him closer and closer, meeting him eye-to-eye. “Is this okay?” he asks.

Wonwoo’s smile doesn’t fade away but it shifts, becoming a version that Soonyoung hadn’t seen yet. It’s somehow softer around the edges. He nods slowly and brings his hand to Soonyoung's face, his thumb rubbing his cheek. His other hand, the one that’s still holding the book, lands softly on Soonyoung’s arm. The touch is soft, delicate. He holds him the way he handled the paper flower, with care, warmly, almost reverently.

He isn’t sure who closes the small space between them. One moment they’re breathing into each other's space and the next they meet in the middle the wrong way. Their noses clash.

“Ow.”

Wonwoo laughs softly and Soonyoung opens his mouth to mutter a small sorry but Wonwoo doesn’t give him time. He guides Soonyoung’s face and kisses him sweetly, no noses getting on their way this time around.

Drawing him even closer by his impossible waist, Soonyoung melts against him, letting himself be kissed. Their lips move together, getting used to each other. Wonwoo kisses him like this point in time is a prologue in a novel.

Wonwoo deepens the kiss and his hold on Soonyoung's arm goes a little tighter. Soonyoung reciprocates, even when he vaguely registers the corner of the hardback pressing uncomfortably against his bicep.

That’s when his mind reminds him that they’re hiding in plain sight, that the semblance of privacy they have it’s just a feeling.

The noise at the back of his throat is as inevitable as the sensation that has been rapidly growing under his ribs for weeks. Whatever it is, it’s unavoidable with the way Wonwoo struggles to not smile against his lips. Soonyoung isn’t fighting the feeling anyway — he holds onto it with greedy hands, pressing Wonwoo close to him to make sure it’s happening.

Soonyoung starts to giggle and the kiss turns into something with too many teeth, making them stop because he can't stop the giddiness from bubbling up from deep inside him.

He takes a real look at Wonwoo and admires him for one, two, three seconds. He licks his lips and notices Wonwoo follow the movement with his eyes. He’s always pretty but Soonyoung likes him even more like this, this close.

If it was possible to grab this exact moment, he’d take it, fold it and press it between the pages of a book he’s never going to finish. Keep it safe.

“I was waiting for you to do that,” Soonyoung tells him honestly, his brain-to-mouth filter completely gone.

He’s still holding onto Wonwoo’s sweatshirt and Wonwoo’s hand is still on the space where his neck and shoulder meet. But he wants him closer, the touch is almost addictive, really.

Wonwoo rubs his thumb on his cheek, a catlike smile stretches across his face. “You could’ve done it anytime, Soonyoungie. We’re on a date.”

And there it is.

Soonyoung goes for the truth, mostly because he can’t think straight. “I wasn’t sure of that.”

That seems to do it for Wonwoo. He laughs, unrestrained, forgetting himself and their place for the first time today as he throws his head back. His laugh is a well-marked ha-ha-ha, short but cute all the same. And if it weren’t because he feels himself blushing, Soonyoung would be proud of himself.

“Hey, don’t laugh.” He pokes Wonwoo’s side. “You’ve never confirmed in any way it was a date.”

“Did you think I take every cute boy I know to libraries?” Wonwoo brushes his hand through Soonyoung’s hair, his fingers almost get stuck on the ends. “That I pick them up at their places and hold their hands just because I can?” he asks, his voice tilting up and down every few syllables. He doesn’t seem to notice his satoori slipped out.

Soonyoung pokes him again, one, two times, and flutters his eyelashes, just to be equally annoying. “Cute, huh?” he giggles, pretending to be flustered. It isn’t hard, because he is.

To be completely honest, he’s trying to mask the obvious: he wants to hear it again.

It doesn't work. There’s no actual reaction from Wonwoo — damn him. He simply hums and gives him another chaste kiss, it’s more of a peck with how short it is and it almost makes Soonyoung forget he was being teased. Almost.

“You’re so annoying.” Soonyoung wants to kiss him senseless.

Wonwoo only smiles before pulling away from him, slowly tearing himself away from his hold. He takes the book Soonyoung would've forgotten about if it wasn't poking him on the arm the entire time, and crouches on his ridiculously long legs to put it back where it belongs.

Soonyoung looks down at the flower on his palm and tries to smooth out the tip of a petal he accidentally bent. “What is it about?” he asks, offering his hand to help him get up.

That small touch isn’t enough, now. So he doesn’t let go, neither does Wonwoo.

Soonyoung hands him back his paper flower and Wonwoo takes a pause before saving it in his jean’s back pocket. “I’m sorry, what?”

Soonyoung gestures to the book on the shelf. “The book... what is it about?”

“Magical correspondence,” he says. His face lights up as he tells Soonyoung about the fantasy novel that narrates a story of thieves that take shelter in an abandoned store.

Soonyoung thinks maybe the two of them could hide in the library for a while, take shelter, here. He tells Wonwoo as much, and he takes notice of how this time he can’t keep from smiling wide when he tells Soonyoung they could.

It’s cute. Wonwoo is cute.

They continue to make their way through the library, walking side by side in relative silence, browsing the shelves and stealing small touches from each other. Sometimes Soonyoung speaks over him and apologizes but Wonwoo tells him it’s okay, continue, I won’t forget what I wanted to say.

Soonyoung picks up books with flashy spines and titles, none of them really catching his attention until Wonwoo shows him a book that he thinks Soonyoung would like.

“Do you have a library card?” Wonwoo asks him, book in hand.

Soonyoung renewed his card when he found out about Wonwoo's job, so he says eloquently, “Of course I do, yes. I like to read.”

Wonwoo throws him a look, amused and most likely about to tease because that’s what he does. He does it generously and Soonyoung likes it. But he doesn’t want it that way now. So he quickly takes the book from his hands before he gets to say anything. “I’m taking it home. Thank you.”

“You don’t even know what it is about.”

“I like to be surprised.” Soonyoung holds onto the book with the same determination he holds onto Wonwoo's hand. “And besides, I trust you,” he says and that seems to be enough explanation for Wonwoo because he sucks in his lips and says nothing. His eyes wander away from Soonyoung.

Wonwoo got shy. The realization freezes Soonyoung’s brain like he just gulped something ice cold too quickly. He doesn’t know how much damage he can take, honestly.

They get lost in the Korean history section, or more like, Wonwoo gets distracted reading the blurb of a book and Soonyoung hovers closely, regarding his features. The long, straight slope of his nose, his delicate fingers, the way he blinks after squinting his eyes in concentration. That’s all he’s been doing for the past five minutes, or so.

Soonyoung is leaning against the shelf for support, and he is staring. This time, he can tell Wonwoo knows he is like he’s known all along.

He thinks again, I want to give him this place. But gives him a kiss instead once he’s checked there’s no one around.

The heavy paperback Wonwoo was holding makes a dry _thunk_ sound when it falls to the floor. It’s laughable, perfectly funny, almost orchestrated by the same people behind the dramas he likes to watch.

Soonyoung pulls him in, his body tingling with something akin to a sugar rush. He finally gets to run his free hand through Wonwoo’s hair. By the soft noise Wonwoo makes, he seems to like it. A library cat, through and through.

It comes to mind that he is in no financial condition of privatizing a public building when he feels Wonwoo’s hands pressing on his hips. He should save buying the library as an idea for much, much later, and until then, he could get him a book for his birthday.

“When was your birthday? I forgot.” Soonyoung breathes after breaking the kiss, trying to sound conversational and not like he’s thinking about what to get him for his birthday besides, well, himself.

He goes cross-eyed to watch Wonwoo frown, slightly confused. “Where did that even come from?” Soonyoung shrugs and Wonwoo says, “Uh... July 17th.”

A light cough makes Soonyoung jump lightly and Wonwoo pulls away from him, moves faster than he’s ever seen him. A figure passes on the other side of the shelf behind Wonwoo, seemingly unaware of them. Only then, Soonyoung finds Wonwoo’s surprised face comical, his eyes wide like he forgot for a moment where they are.

Soonyoung sighs, watching Wonwoo pick up the book from the floor and put it back in its place. He looks disheveled, and Soonyoung knows he probably looks worse. He _feels_ wrecked merely by looking at Wonwoo; his hair sticks up on one side and his lips are cherry red. Soonyoung can’t look away.

“You’ll have to remind me of your birthday again,” he says, faking nonchalance.

After he lays down the book Wonwoo gave to him on top of one of the rows of the shelf, he reaches up and smooths out the mess he made of Wonwoo’s hair, despite wanting to make it worse. He can feel Wonwoo's eyes on him when he tries to iron out his own t-shirt with his palms. It's kind of impossible to fix it.

“We can go for a walk. If you want,” Wonwoo offers.

“Please,” Soonyoung says, “I need to breathe.”

It makes Wonwoo smile, it’s an even more devastating sight but he still can’t look away.

It is humanly impossible to stop touching Wonwoo after. Like he just got a taste and now he wants more. Soonyoung takes his hand and sticks as close to him as he can. It almost pains him to let him go to take his wallet out and look for his newly renovated library card on their way to the main desk.

Both of them stand in front of it but the guy behind the desk with a tag on his t-shirt that reads _Seungkwan_ doesn’t look up from the monitor in front of him as he types rapidly. But he knows they're there because he asks, “So… How did the exchange go this time?”

“It went well. Got something this time,” Wonwoo takes out the paper flower from his pocket and holds it up, showing it to Seungkwan.

“Nice pull, hyung,” he says, voice flat and unamused.

Wonwoo doesn’t bristle at his tone, but he does frown and leans forward on the desk. “Bad day?” he asks.

“You can’t even begin to imagine.” Seungkwan taps the monitor in front of him with slender fingers, a frown decorating his face. “I just had to cover for my ex-coworker who was making out with his date on the Korean History section because he must’ve forgotten there are cameras in here.” Wonwoo’s grip on his hand goes slack, and Soonyoung doesn’t know if he wants to laugh or run away. “And now it’s in the recording and _I_ will have to go through it, relieve the worst experience of my life and delete it so he doesn’t get banned from stepping foot inside this establishment. So, you know, now my hyung owes me big time,” he finishes, drumming his fingers on the desk.

Wonwoo brings his hands up to cover his face, hiding behind them momentarily. “Oh, god. Sorry?” Soonyoung has never seen him mortified like this, face red and about to pop like pop rocks, unable to find words. Seungkwan seems pleased by it.

“I’ll invite you to dinner. Hyung’s treat,” Wonwoo says and the promise of free dinner makes Seungkwan’s expression soften. “But please, don’t tell Jeonghan hyung. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Seungkwan smiles. “I’ll think about it, hyung.”

Wonwoo sighs, still a bit red-faced but seems to accept defeat. Maybe he’s above begging, Soonyoung thinks and saves that small fact for another time.

Trying to move the conversation towards something that isn’t what they were doing at the Korean History section, Soonyoung puts the book on the desk and that reminds Seungkwan that he is there because suddenly, he’s being analyzed.

Seungkwan takes both the book and Soonyoung’s library card, not taking his eyes off him until he starts typing on the computer. The system makes a wrong sound that Soonyoung doesn’t like and Seungkwan raises one of his eyebrows.

“You’re blocked from borrowing because you have a pending fine.”

“That can’t be right,” Soonyoung says, getting closer to the desk and trying to see the monitor.

Seungkwan turns the monitor for better viewing. “See.” He points at where he’s supposed to look but fixes it quickly. “Fines over 6000 won will block patron borrowing until the fine is reduced and until you return—” Seungkwan pauses to scan the monitor again— “Shakespeare's _Macbeth_.”

And there goes his short-term plan to have a reason to text Wonwoo. The plan he forgot about and is starting to mourn. Soonyoung had a vision, okay.

Soonyoung gives Seungkwan his best _I'm-so-sorry-for-the-inconvenience_ smile and pays up. He pointedly avoids looking at Wonwoo beside him. Not that he needs an excuse to talk to him now that he has kissed him but still.

“I’m sorry about all this,” Soonyoung apologizes honestly, gesturing between him and Wonwoo.

Seungkwan passes him his printed fine over the desk and looks between the both of them before sighing. “All I ask for is some self-preservation from your part. For your sake, and mine.“

Wonwoo says sorry to his friend one last time before Seungkwan waves them off, and they leave him and the book behind.

📖 📖 📖

“That was sure the worst first impression I’ve ever left on someone.”

Wonwoo shakes his head, giving Soonyoung a smile that soothes his nerves. “Don't worry about Seungkwanie. He just likes to be like _that_ for dramatic effect. If he was really mad, he wouldn’t have said anything just now.”

Outside, the sun shines brightly over them, and the embarrassment of the whole situation inside the library starts to wash away from him.

But.

"I'm still sorry about…" Soonyoung gestures vaguely to the library behind them, "all that."

He keeps calling it like that, because what else can he possibly call it. He isn't embarrassed, that’s for sure but he isn’t certain about what Wonwoo wants to call it — _if_ he even wants to put a name on it.

Wonwoo seems to think about it for a moment, mulling over his words before he says them. "I don't regret it, do you?"

What a dumb question. Soonyoung doesn't even have to think about it. The feeling that carries the answer rolls in waves off him. "Of course not."

"Then, there's nothing to say sorry for," Wonwoo says so earnestly that Soonyoung can’t complain.

He huffs but says nothing. Opening his mouth would mean him tripping over his words and saying the first embarrassing thing that comes to mind. Something corny like, I like you so much and it’s starting to make me act more stupid than usual.

But isn’t it obvious already with the way Soonyoung acts around Wonwoo. It must be.

Right?

They barely make it to the end of the block and Soonyoung can already feel summer right around the corner, creeping upon him. It was never his favorite season. Spring, he loves, of course, but June gets closer and closer each day, bringing the summer heat with it. One of these days he’ll be outside and feel the first, single sweat drop, rolling down his spine, the one that announces summer has arrived and therefore, that his imminent death is close.

Simply put, Soonyoung dreads summer but Wonwoo is keeping up with his pace and for once, he’s looking forward to it.

Wonwoo nudges him with his shoulder, bringing him back down.

Soonyoung meets his gaze and sees the glint in his eyes. Almost immediately, he knows where this is going.

“I didn’t know you were interested in English Literature,” he teases because he knows, because it’s obvious, painfully clear.

But Soonyoung has never been one to hide anything and he won't start now. He stops on his feet, turning to his side to meet Wonwoo eye-to-eye, on equal ground. “Have you thought that maybe I’m interested in _you_ , not Shakespeare,” he states, doesn't ask.

There’s no _maybe_ in the way Soonyoung's eyes focus on Wonwoo's smug smile. It's as clear as the sky over them because Soonyoung wants it that way. He wants Wonwoo to know he would like to take _him_ on a date, kiss him again. Preferably somewhere where they don't have to hide in between endless shelves of books, but he's not picky.

Wonwoo pretends to think for a moment, amusement plain on his face. "Did you even start it?"

"What?"

"Macbeth."

Soonyoung rolls his eyes, exasperated. "You just ruined the moment," he says and starts to walk again.

Wonwoo is unfazed by it, almost like he was expecting this reaction. He takes Soonyoung's hand, and Soonyoung lets him.

“You know, you don’t have to do things for me,” Wonwoo says. The rest of the sentence is very much implied. _Just because you like me._

“But I want to,” he says and as soon as he says it, he regrets it. Even if it’s true. It sounds childish even to his own ears, so he tries to rephrase it. “I mean, I like doing things you like doing.”

Much better. Yes, Soonyoung. Very eloquent.

“I think that says you're very attentive and kind,” Wonwoo says, rubbing his thumb on his hand, the touch reassuring. It feels a lot like this is his way of saying, _Thank you_.

It’s so _him_ to know which exact words to use, and to use them without really using them.

“But we can always do something we both enjoy — like I really don’t mind whatever we do as long as I get to do it with you,” he says and Soonyoung lets out a small huff of laughter. “What? I mean it. We could just walk around, or, even do absolutely nothing like sit under a tree, and I’d still enjoy it.”

Soonyoung understands. He, too, just wants to be with him.

Nodding, he says, "You know what? You're kinda okay, Wonwoo-yah."

Their fingers stick to each other and it's kind of gross but neither of them let go.

“Just 'kinda okay'?”

Soonyoung gives his hand a squeeze and offers a smile, the most honest one he can offer. “Yup.”

He wouldn't want it any other way.

Hand in hand, they keep walking aimlessly when a sound almost gets drowned out by the traffic. Emphasis on almost. It doesn’t go unnoticed by Soonyoung.

Wonwoo plays stupid. For someone so smart, he’s good at it.

Soonyoung tilts his head to the side and tugs at Wonwoo’s hand. “Are you hungry?” he grins, letting him know he heard his stomach growling.

“Maybe,” Wonwoo admits, making Soonyoung laugh, but not unkindly. It makes Wonwoo suck in his lips, swallowing a smile.

“‘Kay, let’s do something _I_ like,” Soonyoung says, “Let’s go get something to eat.”

Soonyoung drags him to the nearest corner convenience store they find as Wonwoo half-heartedly protests that eating is a physiological need, not a hobby. But he stops mid-sentence once Soonyoung says he’ll pay. Bastard.

He sighs as they enter, a relieving rush of cold air greets him hello. The air conditioning protests as they make their way around the convenience store in relative silence, scanning the shelves for something to eat. Soonyoung doesn’t contemplate it for more than a second when he picks cup noodles, a spaghetti ramen brand he tried a few times, and one samgak kimbap, the kimchi and tuna type he favors. But Wonwoo takes his sweet time, eyeing the packages of tteokbokki chips in front of him.

The whole experience brings him back to high school, except back then he didn’t have enough money to go offering his crushes to buy food for them.

He gets on his tiptoes behind Wonwoo, places his hands on his shoulders, and sing-songs, “Pick whatever you want, my treat.”

The reminder spurs Wonwoo on; he decides on a particular brand of chewy noodles and a salty flavored broth, and when he walks over to the large cooler, taking Soonyoung in tow, he takes one triangular kimbap, and then another.

When Soonyoung is paying, Wonwoo says, “I could get used to this.”

Soonyoung pushes his shoulder lightly, playfully. “Well. Don’t.”

A grandma sits in front of a television and they slightly bow their greetings as they pass, going straight for the counter. There’s no pressure for them to move as quickly as they do, but there’s a promise of an early meal and that somehow accentuates the hunger in Soonyoung’s stomach more.

He picks the sachets and the garnish pack from the bowl and pours boiling water into it. He lets it cook, watches Wonwoo go through the same process from the corner of his eye as he rips the kimbap plastic package and takes one big bite.

Five minutes later, they’re having an early dinner among empty plastic chairs and tables inside, next to the high, tall windows overlooking the street. The wheat flour noodles taste so good, there’s a chewiness to them that Soonyoung very much enjoys. He hums happily at the sweetness of the tomato pasta sauce overwhelming his senses.

He’s slurping up his noodles when he notices he’s being observed. “What?” He feels his face with his hands for any trace of food without letting go of his chopsticks. “Do I have something on my face?” he asks genuinely.

It seems to get Wonwoo out of whatever spell he was in. “Ah, no. It’s just… I was gonna say we should go for coffee next week, if you wanna.”

“Oh. Sure. But, just so you know—” he swallows and immediately fills his mouth again— “I don’t like coffee. Too bitter. Can’t even—” he hisses at how hot it is— “just can't stand the taste of it.”

Wonwoo reaches to brush his thumb on the corner of Soonyoung’s mouth, wiping a drop of the sauce away, making him pause. “That kinda suits you,” he says softly.

He is eyeing his lips and Soonyoung licks them, very much on purpose, and smiles when Wonwoo looks down at the food in front of him. Soonyoung goes back to his food but doesn’t stop watching him after.

Wonwoo bites his kimbap in small pieces, like a bird. Half of his hands are covered by his long sleeves, only the top of his fingers holding the kimbap to his mouth are visible. It’s endearing in a way that makes Soonyoung want to run around the block to get whatever he’s feeling out of his system.

After putting his chopsticks inside the bowl, he brings his plastic chair closer to Wonwoo’s and watches the cars and people hurriedly pass by outside. “We should go to, like, an actual restaurant, sometime,” he mumbles.

“Mmh, would love that,” Wonwoo says, putting his own chopsticks down as Soonyoung lifts his right leg over the bench so that his body is facing him.

He can’t stop watching his annoyingly, stupidly handsome face. His only comfort is that Wonwoo meets his searching eyes, every damn time.

“This was good, though,” he says and means it.

Wonwoo hums his affirmation as he turns to face him, too, and Sooyoung comes forward to press a quick kiss on his lips.

Soonyoung’s brain keeps offering these words, repetitively. Cute, endearing, pretty. If he was as practiced with putting them together as Wonwoo was, he’d write a poem on the way his sneaky kisses keep catching Wonwoo off guard.

The fascination doesn’t last for long, though.

“You paying next time, too?” Wonwoo smiles, cocky. He’s getting more and more comfortable around him by the minute, Soonyoung can tell. Good.

But also. “Hell, no.”

It’s easy to get lost in the moment when it’s spent with Wonwoo, he doesn’t even notice the way the clocks run. It’s like he blinks once and suddenly, dusk time is close, the air outside becomes slightly more forgiving and Wonwoo asks, _Shall we go for a walk?_

Walking outside, he talks to Wonwoo about the dance studio, the choreography he’s working on, tells him about how Junhui is hopeful about his plan to set up Jihoon with one of Soonyoung’s co-workers. They flow in and out of conversation, the silences between them filled with something else. A very unfamiliar, familiar feeling that Soonyoung can’t name.

They pass by a fenced park and Wonwoo points at a cuckoo. It takes Soonyoung a moment to notice it, the sun is hiding and so is the bird, sitting on a tree. He can’t even tell how Wonwoo found it so easily. Naturally, they take out their phones to take pictures of it. Soonyoung laughs when Wonwoo can’t take a good picture because the bird flies away, and sends the one he took. Which wasn’t the best, because, mind you, he isn’t a photographer, but it’s better than nothing.

The sun is entirely gone, replaced by the city lights by the time they are standing outside Soonyoung’s apartment complex. They linger there for a moment.

“Let me know when you get home,” he says instead of good-bye.

“Alright,” Wonwoo says with a smile. He pats his pockets before taking out the paper lily he got from the book, the lily Soonyoung had forgotten about it completely after they left the library behind.

Wonwoo offers it to him, standing there, close to him.

The flower looks like it’s been through a lot, and it has. Most of its petals are bent in all the wrong places and it looks comically flat, even for a paper flower.

Soonyoung hasn’t felt this infatuated in such a long time, it’s refreshing. He takes it gladly and kisses Wonwoo instead of saying thank you. Maybe he can become better at saying things without saying them, too.

"Do you give your treasures in your books to anyone else? Or only to ‘cute boys’?" Soonyoung asks, repeating Wonwoo’s own words back at him.

"Only to cute boys.”

Later, Wonwoo will text him with annoyingly perfect punctuation that he actually never gave anyone one. And Soonyoung will feel very special and giddy with joy, ready to conquer the world, or something cheesy like that. Maybe in his high, he’ll even text Junhui _thanks,_ out of context so he’ll get swarmed with questions he’ll be incredibly pleased to answer.

And then, he’ll think to himself, I wanna keep him for as long as he’d let me.

But for now, Soonyoung puts his hands on his shoulders and leans up to kiss him one last time before he gets lost in the feeling, before Wonwoo leaves him there, waving and smiling stupidly as he watches him go.

He’s sure Wonwoo can taste the kimchi and tuna on his tongue but he doesn’t seem to care. Neither does Soonyoung as he tastes something a little tangy like kimbap and underneath it something faintly sweet like honey iced tea, so undeniably Wonwoo.

**Author's Note:**

> I did think, let’s go about this slowly.  
> This is important. This should take  
> some really deep thought. We should take  
> small thoughtful steps.   
>    
>  But, bless us, we didn’t.   
>    
>  _— I did think, let’s go about this slowly, Mary Oliver._   
>    
> 
> 
> * * *
> 
>   
> thanks to ki and kit for being my emotional support readers and friends. and thanks to mina for the words of encouragement.
> 
> you can come talk to me about these two on [twitter](https://twitter.com/heartspound) or [curious cat](https://curiouscat.qa/heartspound)!


End file.
